


the world is my oyster, so let's crack it open and see what it yields

by pawn_vs_player



Series: DefectTale [7]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Amoral Sans, Amorality, Apocalypse, Betrayal, Blood and Gore, Chara & Sans Being Evil Together, Chara Is Their Own Warning, Chara Possessing Frisk, Chara may be an evil amoral murderer, Conditioning, Dark Sans, Dubious Morality, Dysfunctional Family, Dysfunctional Relationships, Everyone is Dead, Family Fluff, Flowey deserves better, Gen, Genocide, Kill or be killed, Moral Compass Flowey, Murder, Murder Trio, Original Character Death(s), Parental Sans, Post-Undertale Genocide Route, Power Dynamics, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, Serial Killers, Sociopath Sans, Soulless Flowey, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Unconventional Friendship, Unreliable Narrator, but they are still a child, despite the fact that he's still a dick, except for the, i mean there's nukes genocide and crumbling civilization so..., no seriously there's fluff in this, sort of, who exist only to die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-15 20:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8070784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pawn_vs_player/pseuds/pawn_vs_player
Summary: The first time you see what a blaster does to a human body, you could cry, it's so gorgeous. Chara's laughter rings high and holy in your ears; you join them, a lower counterpart in minor key, the church bell tolling along to rising hymnals.Flowey whimpers softly in the flowerpot the kid holds.(The barrier is broken, leaving Sans and Chara a whole planet of unsuspecting humans to entertain themselves with. Flowey is rapidly regretting ever reaching out to that damn skeleton.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> (In which there is so much murder. S o m u c h m u r d e r. And yet also... fluff???)
> 
> This series got sooooo much longer than it was supposed to...  
> My sincere gratitude to every single person who read, kudosed, and especially commented. It's because of your encouragement that fanfiction ever gets published. I hope you like this installment as much as you did the others!

The sun is setting when you emerge. You're glad. Everyone fears the darkness; it's where danger hides easiest.

"wanna take a shortcut, kid?" you ask. Chara smiles and reaches out for your hand, knife tucked into their pocket and Flowey in the other hand. 

You blink.

The three of you are standing in an empty street. The ground is black and solid under your feet- asphalt, right. The dying sun is hidden behind the towering buildings around you. 

"--There,--" Chara says, letting go of your hand to point. "--'The Pottery Barn'. We ought to be able to get a flowey pot there."

"Hey!" Flowey hisses, drawing himself up. "I did not agree to that!"

In a flash, Chara's drawn their knife and is holding it next to Flowey's eye. "--I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood.  _S i n c e w h e n w e r e y o u t h e o n e i n c o n t r o l?--"_

Flowey gulps. 

Chara smiles. "--That's what I thought.--"

They glance back at you and your grin. "--Any opinions on what we stuff the weed in?--"

"i would ask the bud, but i think he wants to keep that eye," you say. "i'm partial to blue myself."

"--Of course,--" Chara snorts. "--Let's see what they've got, partner, and then we'll decide.--"

You jimmy the lock open with your magic. Chara skips inside, you at their back and Flowey wriggling in the curve of their arm. Flowey looks back at you with Asriel's eyes: you shrug at him.  _the kid's in charge now, bud._

"--Here!--" Chara chirps. They've found a wide, nine-inch tall pot painted in swirls of green, blue, purple, and white. It's actually quite lovely.

"nice, kiddo," you say appreciatively. "really got an eye for color, eh?"

"--Yep!--" they say cheerfully, pouring their meager handful of dirt into the pot, Flowey with it. "--Toriel taught me!--" They pause, eyes flickering brown. "--Mama...--"

They shake their head, eyes firmly red. "--Hehe. Stupid old goat.--"

Flowey looks away from them. 

"heh. toriel was always too trusting," you concede. "you gotta admit her puns were top-notch, though."

Chara chuckles. "--Heh, yeah. Always liked puns.--"

"fantastic," you hum. "even more reasons for me to like you."

Chara smiles brightly at you. "--Wouldn't be my partner if I didn't like you too, Sansy~--"

"okay, no, i object to that," you say. They giggle. 

"--Alright,--" they say agreeably. "--I'll get more creative then, lazybones.--"

Flowey groans loudly. "Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?"

Neither of you deign to answer him.

 

There's a locked door at the back of the shop. Chara cuts the lock off and walks through, handing Flowey off to you. You'll need to get your little bud more dirt, if he's going to survive in this pot, but that's a concern for later. You follow Chara up the stairs, both of you quiet as an embarrassed Alphys.

You unlock the door at the top of the staircase with your magic before Chara can try to chop that one. It'll dull their knife unnecessarily. They shoot a quick grin over their shoulder before opening the door and stepping inside.

They go to work quickly. There's a kid asleep on the sofa, mouth open in a soft snore: Chara slits their throat, and they flicker awake for just a brief minute to choke to death on their own blood. You split up when you get upstairs; Chara goes to the bedroom at the end of the hall, and you bring Flowey to the one against the left wall.

There is a girl asleep in her bed, dark hair haloed around her face. She doesn't snore. She has a potted plant on her desk, so you tear up the miniature tree and dump the dirt into Flowey's pot. He coughs. The girl stirs, blinking: she sees you and shoots up with a gasp.

You grin at her.

"heya," you say, left eye glowing blue. "wanna have fun?"

She stumbles back, away from you.

"aw," you say, and your bones pierce her chest. She falls to the ground, scream choked off in her throat, blood soaking through her pajamas. "see, running isn't part of the fun."

Flowey stares at you. "S-Sans..."

"what?" you ask. "you came with us."

"I didn't sign up for this!" 

You sigh. "bud." The sharp end of a bone hovers against his eye. "i don't like whining. either shut up and do your part, or shut up and die. g o t i t?"

He gulps. You draw back the bone. He nods rapidly.

"good."

 

Chara's dripping blood when they emerge from the other bedroom. "--Can we check the kitchen?--" they ask. "--I could use more than one knife.--"

"sharp idea, kiddo."

They giggle. Flowey is silent. 

 

You leave the house with a full Floweypot, blood spattered on your jacket and coated in Chara's hair, and three new knives stuffed inside Chara's sweater. Flowey looks around and says he recognizes some of this place. Chara nods. "--I lived here, once,--" they acknowledge. "--It's changed.--"

"got any ideas for where to head?" you ask.

They grin. "--Oh yeah.--"

 

They lead you to a large brick building, one they call an apartment complex. They tell you that people live in every room, that there's probably at least fifty people in there. Your eye sparks blue and you chuckle. "what're we waiting for, then?"

You leave Flowey on the ground outside. He doesn't protest this decision.

 

Your jacket is practically purple when you come back out. Your bones are more pink than white. Your left eye flickers between blue flame and black space. Your grin is less synthetic than it's been in years.

Chara emerges a couple minutes after you. They like to draw out their killings, let the victim stew in fear before letting out their life. You just like watching the geysers of scarlet, listening to the noises people make as their soul shatters. They giggle, wiping their knife on the sleeve of their sweater. They've stolen a backpack from someone, and their sweater is less bulky. When they notice where your eyes are, they shrug. "--I require food,--" they say, tugging at the strap. "--And it's difficult to hide knives inside this sweater without getting cut.--"

You nod. Makes sense.

Chara scoops Flowey up off the pavement. You flick blood off your skull. "where to next, kiddo?"

They grin at you. "--Why don't you pick?--"

You take their hand to lead them through your shortcut.

 

By the time the sun rises, all three of you are more scarlet than any other color. It's sticky and congealing on your bones, so you head back to the mountain, open to everyone now, and take a shortcut into Waterfall to clean off. Chara accompanies you to clean off their sweater.

"--It's so beautiful, isn't it?--" they say.  _It's so beautiful, isn't it?_ the echo flowers repeat obediently. Chara laughs. The flowers laugh along.

 

You go down the mountain with the setting sun in your eyes. Flowey wriggles. "Can I help this time?" he asks, voice odd.

Chara looks at you. "--Well, if he's that eager to get his petals dirty...--"

You shrug. "be good, bud, or i'm getting out the weedkiller."

Flowey shudders. "Yeah, yeah, okay."

 

The three of you only hunt at night. Chara tells you stories of human fear, monsters under the bed and in the closet and in the shadows. 

You're the Judge, even if no one is left to confirm that. You choose the punishment for humanity. You choose to make their fears reality. 

Chara slips under beds when you teleport them inside locked houses. Flowey creeps along under the earth, tangling unsuspecting feet in thorny vines and taking them down with him, letting them choke on the soil he thrives on. You creep into closets and wait for the lights to go off, for the eyes to close, for the breathing to even out, before you light the rooms with blue and leave them skewered in their beds.

You watch news stories on cracked human televisions. The country trembles in fear. Chara takes your hand, grinning so wide it seems like their face will crack. "--I've missed this,--" they murmur. "--All the attention. And this time it's for something I've done, not what I can do.--"

You tug your hand free to wrap your arm around their shoulders, tug them in against your body. Your blue jacket had grown stiff and uncomfortable, blood gathering faster than you could wash it, so you took a black coat from a house you raided and tossed your old one into Hotland. They snuggle happily in against your ribs, rubbing their nose against a patch of dried blood. Your ruffle their hair. They like being touched, being reminded that they really do have a body again, and that they can do more things with it than kill. You don't question it, you just do as they ask. They freed you, brought you up here and made you their partner and gave you a whole world to play with; you will be forever in their debt. Cuddling, as Chara calls and Papyrus called it, is nothing.

"--Can we watch something else?--" Chara asks. "--I wanna see if I recognize anything.--"

You shrug and hand them the remote. "click yourself out, kiddo."

They giggle, nuzzle closer against you.

 

You clear out the town in a month. You finish during the afternoon, sun hot and unforgiving on your scarlet-bathed bones.

A helicopter circles far overhead as you step out of the last house, straightening your bloody jacket. Chara follows, Flowey in his new pot- purple and black- in their arms. You look up at the helicopter, then at Chara. They grin.

"--Go ahead.--"

You step into the shortcut and emerge dozens of feet in the air, phalanges curling around the bar on the outside of the helicopter. The cameraman inside screams, dropping the camera and jerking back. You turn his soul blue and push him backward, letting him slide right out of the helicopter. He falls flailing, screaming, until he's too far away for you to hear.

There's a reporter and a pilot in the front. The reporter has turned around, wide blue eyes on you, speaking rapidly into a headset. You give her your best chilling grin and send bones through the pilot's chair, impaling him. He slumps, blood gushing out down his seat and across the controls, dripping across the floor toward your slippers.

"see you on the ground," you tell her calmly, and step out of the helicopter. You slide through space and step out at Chara's side. Flowey wriggles in his pot. The three of you watch the helicopter fall. 

It explodes when it hits the ground. You wonder who the reporter was talking to.

"--Pretty,--" Chara says absently. The flames are licking at the sky, smoke rising high like a beacon. You shrug, slide your arm over their shoulders.

"where to next, partner?"

They consider, biting at their mouth. 

"--I've always wanted to see Paris,--" they say slowly. You've never seen Paris. You don't know where Paris is.

You take Chara's hand, tear through spacetime.  _Paris_ , you direct, and you step out on a dark street lit only by the occasional streetlamp. Chara giggles, clapping their hands. "--Yes! Thank you, thank you, Sans!"

They've never called you by your name before.

"no problem, partner," you say. Flowey looks up at the sky: it's cloudless, and the stars twinkle like tiny souls. The moon is a thin, lambent sliver. 

"We should probably start now," he says. You nod. 

"--This way,--" Chara decides. They hand Flowey and his pot to you and skip down the street, backpack swinging against their thin body, knife reflecting light onto their stained fingers.

"they're somethin' else," you say absently. Flowey snorts.

"You're one to talk."

You grin. Guilty as charged, after all.

 

Paris is surprising in how simple it is. Previous attacks have left the city on edge. All you need to do is leave a few dozen piles of bodies, kill a few politicians, set a fire or five and leave some threatening messages, and bam- the city's crumbling under its own fear.

You think of the Underground, how quickly everyone had panicked when the Royal Guard- half-useless anyway- was suddenly gone. When Undyne the Undying dusted.

Monsters and humans really aren't that different.

 

When you finish with Paris- and by that, you mean you leave it a flaming, bloody, glorious wreck- Chara takes you and Flowey to America. They tell you how everyone hates each other, how they make their fortune on bleeding backs.

They tell you, but they don't need to. 

You'd have done it anyway, easily.

 

You and Chara are tucked against each other on a bloody couch, watching the news. Flowey's out on the back porch, sunning himself. Chara is finishing a chocolate bar and licking their fingers when the anchor mentions something about international unity.

_In the wake of the recent genocide and ruin of Paris and a small Canadian town known as Ebott, the U.N. and E.U., as well as assorted other governments including China, the USA, and most of Africa have banded together to apprehend and punish the people responsible._

Chara chokes on their laughter. It's bitter and sharp, and their voice, when they speak, cracks like a whip. "--Oh, was that all it took for you to get your shit together?!"

You don't give them a response. You just tug them closer to your side and brush your fingers through their hair, cleaning out a fragment of brain matter from their last murder.

 

You leave Chara and Flowey to their carnage in someplace called Mississipi while you take a trip back to Ebott. You don't move back, only forward: you're curious to see whether the Underground has done the same. You jump down the hole the children fell through, shortcutting to the bottom before you kill yourself. 

The flowerbed has grown thick and tangled. The Ruins are empty of anything but dust. Snowdin is barren. Waterfall echoes with silence: you pick a bouquet of echo flowers for Chara and leave them under the hole, under the sun. Nothing's changed.

Hotland is different. Buildings are crumbling, Mettaton's attractions are broken down and unlit. Your old 'dog stand is splinters. 

Alphys' cameras still work. When you wave at them, they blink red and swivel away. 

You head to her lab. Chara hadn't been able to find her- had assumed, they told you, that the weak little reptile killed herself, too overcome to stand against the human she'd watched kill everyone else. You hadn't said anything to them about it, then, but...

Well, you've known Alphys a lot longer than the kid has, and while yes, she isn't strong or a fighter, and yes, she's often crippled by feelings-

She is a scientist, and she trained under your father. She knows how to be impartial when the situation calls for it- knows how to stand strong and unbowed in the face of unimaginable risk.

You find her lab easily. It's locked. You blast the door down.

She's there, sitting in a corner. Her face is pale and her scales are tinged gray. She looks thin and sick, but she's there, alive. Changed. 

"S-S-Sans?!" she gasps, getting to her feet. "I-I thought y-you were dead! You w-w-w-ere there, w-with Asgore! They k-k-killed him, h-how are y-you-"

You see the moment she checks your stats and sees how high your LV has risen. She stumbles back, a soft whimper tangling up in her throat. You smile. Blue bursts in your left eye socket.

"hey, alphys," you say. "what's the scariest kind of dinosaur?"

She shakes her head, pressing back against the wall. You step toward her. She trembles.

"a terror-dactyl," you finish, and raise your hand. Your blasters begin to charge. She closes her eyes.

Your father's hand on your shoulder, Sans this is my assistant, h-hello little one I'm Alphys, look out for him alright, father is always cautious with you and it's boring, Alphys lets you play with the materials, she tells you you're smart and helpful, you aren't bored in the lab with father and Alphys, mother is dust and father's face is cracking open, Papyrus wants to be with you all the time and Alphys is more careful around him, it's boring again, Papyrus is at home and Alphys is screaming and the screens are glaring red and father is standing at the edge of the Core with his hands spread, take care of your brother for me, gaster don't, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, Alphys' arms around you and her tears running down your skull, cold and wet and gross, you can't live in the palace anymore because your father doesn't exist, you go to Snowdin because Alphys says it's safe, Alphys sends you food and money when she can and you and Papyrus are okay, she sends you puzzles and you help her with her science and you aren't bored when she talks to you, and she trusts you, and you were never bored when you're with her.

Your blasters disappear.

"the kid doesn't need to know," you say. Alphys blinks at you.

"S-Sans?"

"see ya, alphy," you say, and turn around. "take care of this place, alright? for... for them."

"Sans!"

You leave. 

 

Chara claps their hands, grin stretching wide, when you hand them the echo flowers. "--Thank you!--"

_Thank you, Thank you, Thank you._

You think of Alphys. "you're welcome, partner."

 

America destroys itself. You grab Chara and Flowey and take them to the other side of the world, and the three of you watch the live coverage of mushroom clouds exploding over cities and bright lights leaving behind ruins. People say America got what it deserved, that they were hasty morons, that this is the end of days, that it's a bad sign. That it is only the beginning. 

"where to, kiddo?"

"--I'm in the mood for snow and bears, and I want to see your reaction to vodka.--"

 

The humans here are tough and cruel, sharpened by ice and hard existences. They are, for once, a challenge.

You blast a town. Chara leaps onto your shoulders, screaming their ecstasy. You laugh and laugh, a lower bass note to their high trill. Blue radiates over your bones, pulses in your eye: you turn Chara's soul blue and let them fly. Flowey curls his leaves around your shin and watches Chara laugh and twirl in the cold air, ratty backpack swinging, knives inside clacking against each other.

"I've never seen them this happy," he whispers. "Even... even before."

You are quiet. Chara keeps laughing, asking for higher, higher, higher. You obey. The wind whistles through the tears in your bloodstained jacket.

 

You get yourself a new coat in a city Chara calls St Petersburg. It's white and lined with fluffy green fur. Chara says it's warm and spends half their free time wrapped in it, walking with Flowey in their arms or dozing in yours. Flowey  _can_ travel on his own through snow, it's just uncomfortable. He says you're spoiling the kid. You ask him why that's a bad thing.

He says he thought you didn't know how to spoil someone. You shrug and tell him that all those years living with Papyrus must've had an effect.

 

Russia is fun. Very fun. It reminds you of Snowdin a little, in the end, but instead of the snow being strewn with dust and empty piles of clothes, it's stained crimson and packed with stinking corpses. You tell Chara that monster deaths are far less messy. They agree with you and climb up onto your shoulders. They ask you to pick the next place. You pick up Flowey's pot with him inside and think of heat and wet air, the pictures in Chara's stolen books of tall trees and thick vines and iridescent flowers.

"Where are we?" Flowey asks, looking around. The sound of insects pounds a buzzing heartbeat into your skull.

"dunno," you say. Chara giggles, leaping down from your shoulders.

"--Let's find out, then!--" they chirp. You follow them, Flowey in your arms, grinning.

 

There are many creatures here. Not many humans, but many animals, and the plants are beautiful. You think it's a good thing that you read Chara's books. This is a very pretty piece of the planet.

It's prettier in red, but then, you're finding that most everything is.

 

You find yourself wondering what Undyne would think of this place. Of the bodies you and Chara and Flowey have left behind. Of everything you've done.

Of everything you haven't.

 

You don't think about Papyrus. You did your share of that back in Snowdin.

 

Every once in a while, you see a grinning skull with a crack on each side of its face in the edges of your vision.

 

"What happens when it ends?" Flowey whispers to you one night, Chara hacking their way through a man with a broken gun in front of you. 

You shrug. You don't think about that. You're moving forward, not backward. You're thinking, acting, speaking, now.

If they end everything, then it won't matter what you think. If they let the world burn around them and you, then you'll give them your jacket and let the flames lick you clean. If they reset, then you'll watch them and judge them free to do as they wish.

In the end, it doesn't matter. Not to you.

 

You steal chocolate from the houses you raid. Chara eats it sitting on your shoulders, cleaning their fingers on their sweater and the fluff of your hood. Flowey slides through the earth at your side. Sometimes he talks, mostly to Chara. Usually he doesn't. Chara chatters often, laughs more. They tell you lots of stories, from humans and from monsters. You give them stories in return. They laugh and swing their bare feet, boots tucked in their backpack. They wear an echo flower in their hair and listen to the final words of the people who die on their blade. You hide little things in your pockets, little trinkets you find in the places you fill with blood, things you'll give the kid later. Flowey tells you that your soul has grown three sizes, and Chara explains what he means with a cruel little laugh. They tell Flowey he's an idiot. You give him your unmoving grin and pull off one of his petals. He shrieks and shrieks, and doesn't make another noise for a week.

You keep moving.

 

You go back to Ebott with Chara on your back and Flowey in their hands. You stand over the hole. Chara slides down and looks critically at Flowey. He trembles. 

"I... I can be good... I've been good, I've helped... Chara... Sans... pl-please..."

"--Oh, I'm not putting you back,--" Chara says, giggling. They look at you. You stand with your hands in your pockets, implacable smile firmly in place. This doesn't concern you. They nod to themself, slowly, and then they press their lips against Flowey's forehead.

"--I miss you, Asriel,--" they say quietly, and they raise Flowey over their head.

And then they throw him off the side of the mountain. 

His scream rises through the air like smoke. Chara takes your hand, presses close into your side, rubs their nose against a dried blood spot on your jacket. 

"you gonna reload?" you ask. They shake their head.

"--I haven't saved since we got out,--" they confess. You stare at them.

"--If we fail,--" they explain, "--I want it to mean something.--"

 

Chara wraps themself in your jacket. You hold them against your shoulders and head down the mountain.

Flowey's pot is shards scattered over the earth. He is limp and thin, facedown in the dirt. His petals stir only with the wind.

His d e t e r m i n a t i o n is gone, and so is he.

"no reloads?" you ask again.

"--No reloads,--" Chara confirms. They wrap their arms around your skull. "--I'm tired.--"

You take them to your old house in Snowdin. The two of you sleep on the couch together, curled around each other, Chara in your jacket and your face against their hair.

 

It's an adjustment, not having Flowey around anymore. He's been with you through your life before the kid fell, through all the other resets. He's been a part of your life as much as Papyrus ever was, as much as the kid has become. It's immeasurably strange, living a life without Flowey in it.

But you have Chara, and you have a goal, and you have fun. That's enough.

Eventually, Flowey becomes nothing more than a memory. Just like everyone you left behind when you let the kid through to Asgore.

 

The world destroys itself easily enough without your and Chara's help. Humans really are high-strung, and heavily armed too. Chara calls the mushroom clouds nukes and tells you what they do to a human.

"--The surface won't be safe for me soon,--" they say worriedly. You pick them up and put them on your shoulders, squeezing their leg. 

"i know a place," you say, "as long as you don't mind the dust."

They giggle.

"--Oh, I love dust.--"

 

The humans rip each other apart. All they needed from you and Chara was a nudge.

The world smokes and cracks and burns. You wrap Chara in your jacket and take them back to Snowdin.

 

You don't know if Alphys is still around, but if she is, you haven't seen her and Chara hasn't mentioned her. They aren't really interested in leaving Snowdin, anyway. They're quiet, now, and tired. 

"--I'm bored,--" they sigh. You aren't all that bored, because looking after a human child who isn't entirely human isn't exactly boring, but keeping Chara entertained is important.

You have something. It's a long shot, but the prep won't be boring, at least.

The cracked skull has been in your dreams recently. You want to make it go away.

"i might have somethin'," you tell them. "it'll take a lot of work, though."

They snort. "--I killed the entire Underground. I'm not afraid of work.--"

You grin. "alright, kid."

 

You bring Chara to your lab and show them the machine. 

"my father made this," you admit. Chara's circling it curiously. "he never finished, though, and he died before he could activate it."

"--And you want to restore it? Why?--"

"it's meant to allow interdimensional travel."

Chara stares at you. "--Like... jumping timelines?--"

You grin and nod.

"--So... we can... go to a happy ending? And ruin it?--"

You nod again. 

Their eyes are bright. Determination sparkles between their fingers. "--This is the best idea you've had in a while, partner.--"

"glad you approve."

 

Chara is surprisingly good with mechanic work. When you ask, they shrug and mutter something about parents and engineering. You don't ask again. 

You have no idea how much time it takes. You don't have to sleep, and you rarely have to eat, though Chara- in their human body- takes more breaks than you do. You don't have a clock down here, and honestly, the time doesn't matter. Not like you have anything else to do.

You're trying to sleep when Chara bursts into your room, jumps on your bed and tackle hugs you. "--I got it!--" they yell. "--It's running!--"

You jolt up, careful to not push Chara off you. You pick them up and swing them onto your shoulders as you shortcut into your lab. The machine is humming and lit up. Chara giggles and claps their hands.

You reach for the remote. "didja hook it up?"

"--Yep!--"

"cool." You look at the button. You've tried this before, and it's never worked, but you've never had a partner before. And you don't really know what will happen if it does work. 

"do you want to do the honors, kiddo?"

"--Nah,--" they say, and pet your skull. "--I think it's your turn, partner.--"

You grin. "alright then. here goes something."

You press the button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it was necessary.  
> There are two codas to this 'verse: one in which the machine works, and the Murder Duo starts hopping dimensions; and one where the machine fails, and the Fallen Child r e s e t s. The second ending is both far lighter (you could even call it fluffy!!) and shorter; the first ending could go on indefinitely, though I'll try to just wrap it up and leave it there. I will be publishing both (the 'peaceful' ending is actually already written) within quick succession of this going up.  
> Thank you for reading this and, presumably, the rest of the series. It means so much to me. <3 Please comment and kudos if you enjoyed!


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